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GLENCORE: CHILE GOVT MEDIATION TO AVERT JAN 10 18 COPPER STRIKE

Santiago, Jan 5

Unionised workers at Glencore’s Lomas Bayas Copper Mine in Chile have rejected a final contract offer and begun govt-facilitated mediation to avoid a strike, Reuters reports.Union president Pedro Valdivia says workers will lay down tools on Jan. 10 if no agreement is reached during mediation. Lomas Bayas produced 67,000t of copper between Jan-Oct 2017.New labor laws and rising copper prices have emboldened miners throughout Chile, the world’s top producer of the red metal. Glencore has not responded to a request for comment.A 105-member union at Teck Resources’ Quebrada Blanca mine walked off the job for a week last month and in Nov 2017, workers at BHP’s Escondida mine, the world’s largest copper mine, also downed tools for 24-hours following layoffs there.